Huize (NASDAQ:HUIZ) presented its insurance technology platform, international expansion strategy and artificial intelligence initiatives at Sidoti’s May Microcap Conference, with Chief Financial Officer and Head of International Ron Tam telling investors the company is positioning itself as a pan-Asian digital insurance marketplace rather than a traditional broker.
Tam said Huize has been listed on the Nasdaq Global Market since 2020 and described the past several years as a “rollercoaster ride” because of geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China and regulatory changes in the Chinese market. He said the company now has “something very exciting to share” after progressing through that period.
Platform Scale and Customer Base
Tam said Huize distributed more than $1 billion of policies in fiscal 2025, which he said ranked the company among the top five distributors in the China market. He said Huize serves consumers through direct digital channels, ecosystem partners such as influencers and e-commerce merchants, and independent financial advisers, or IFAs.
The company’s customer base is concentrated among younger and higher-income consumers, according to Tam. He said Huize’s policyholders have an average age of 35, with 65% located in China’s higher-tier cities, which he defined as the country’s top 20 GDP cities. He said these customers are in their prime earning and insurance-buying years and have the potential to buy multiple policies for themselves and their families.
Tam highlighted Huize’s persistency ratio, saying it has remained above 90% over its public disclosure history and stood at least 97% in the first quarter of 2026. He said the company’s persistency metrics are “top quartile” in the industry and are supported by its younger, mass-affluent customer base.
During the Q&A session, Tam said renewal premium growth can be affected by product mix because many savings products sold in recent years, including in China and Hong Kong, are single-premium policies. He said first-year premiums are a more important revenue driver because Huize earns the bulk of commissions in the first year. Tam said first-year premiums grew 52% year over year in the first quarter of 2026.
AI Deployment Across the Business
Tam said Huize has invested heavily in artificial intelligence capabilities over the past three years, spending close to $10 million per year on capital expenditures. He said the company’s digital-first model and 19 years of operating history have produced proprietary transaction data that can be used to support AI tools.
He said Huize’s AI-enabled mobile app is driving 50% year-over-year growth in self-directed long-term policy purchases. Tam also said 15,000 users are served daily through AI-enabled advisory tools without human interaction, and that the company’s customer service AI achieves a 95% accuracy rate in responding to inquiries.
In addition, Tam said AI is being used in claims assistance, customer acquisition and underwriting support. He said AI-powered claims assistance has been valuable to customers and that underwriting tools can help insurers manage risk more efficiently. Tam said the company expects AI to support operating leverage over time, either through cost savings or by enabling the same headcount to handle substantially more business.
International Expansion Becomes a Growth Driver
Tam said Huize’s international business is “no longer a pilot” and has become a second growth engine. The company operates internationally under the Poni Insurtech brand, which was established in 2024 and is headquartered in Singapore. Tam said the company originally targeted having 30% of group revenue come from international markets in 2024 but reached approximately 48% in 2025.
Hong Kong has been a major contributor to that growth. Tam said Hong Kong revenue grew nearly threefold in 2025 and contributed 48% of total overseas revenue. He attributed the growth to demand from mass-affluent mainland Chinese consumers seeking cross-border wealth allocation.
Huize has also secured a Singapore license to conduct insurance business, Tam said. He said the company is building a high-net-worth proposition in Singapore focused on cross-border wealth management, protection, accumulation and legacy planning. In Vietnam, Tam said Huize’s Poni brand and its acquisition of Global Care helped deliver more than 100% growth in gross written premiums and 84% revenue growth in 2025, while users of its local mobile app quadrupled.
Asked about the future revenue mix, Tam said international revenue may stabilize near current levels as both the China business and overseas operations grow. He also said international margins are lower than in mainland China because distribution often relies on IFA partners, but he expects net margins to improve over the next three to five years as AI deployment supports operating leverage.
Product Partnerships and Financial Position
Tam said Huize works with insurance carriers not only on distribution but also on product co-creation. He said insurers, including foreign joint ventures in China such as Aviva and Generali, value Huize’s consumer insights and market data because the company interacts directly with consumers, consultants, agents and advisers. Tam said 88% of the relevant portion of Huize’s business comes from customized or co-developed products, according to figures shown in the presentation.
On financial performance, Tam said Huize reported RMB 22.6 million in profitability for the last fiscal year and improved its expense-to-revenue ratio to 6%. He said the company has more than $35 million in cash on its balance sheet, compared with a market capitalization of less than $20 million, and trades at about 0.3 times price-to-book value. Tam said management and insiders own about 34% of the company.
Tam also told investors that Huize sees potential for a stock re-rating as its international revenue diversification increases. In closing remarks, he said the company sees “a very strong re-rating catalyst” over the next 12 months and added that Huize has plans for a cash dividend distribution if it meets certain public targets this year.
About Huize (NASDAQ:HUIZ)
Huize Holding Limited operates as a technology-driven online insurance distribution platform in China, offering a wide spectrum of personal insurance products including life, health, accident, property and casualty, and travel policies. Through its proprietary technology infrastructure, the company aggregates product information from insurance carriers, provides comparative quotes, and facilitates policy purchase and after-sales service. Huize’s platform integrates data analytics, automated underwriting tools and user-friendly interfaces to streamline insurance selection and enrollment processes for individual customers and small-to-medium enterprises.
Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Beijing, Huize serves clients across mainland China via a multi-channel distribution model.
